User:HistoryofIran/Vahshi Bafqi

Vahshi Bafqi was a Persian poet of the Safavid era, considered to be one of the greatest of his generation.

Biography
Vahshi was born in 1532 in Bafq, an agrarian town near the provincial capital of Yazd in central Iran. In his hometown, Vahshi was taught poetry from his older brother Moradi and the prominent local writer Sharaf al-Din Ali. He pursued his studies in Yazd, and then eventually moved to Kashan, a leading hub of literature during the early Safavid era. There he worked as a school-teacher, and through his poems soon gained the interest of the regional governor. Vahshi appears to have been received well by various local poets, who were annoyed of the accolades bestowed on Mohtasham Kashani (died 1588). He soon became involved in the poetic flyting matches that were a important aspect of the literary scene of this period, trading insults with competitors like Fahmi of Kashan and Ghazanfar of Koranjar. It is most likely during this period that Vahshi dedicated qasidas (panegyrics) to Shah Tahmasp I ((r. 1524 – 1576)).

During his stay in Kashan, Vahshi visited some other cities in Iran, such as Arak and Jarun, before finally settling in Yazd. Unlike other contemporary Persian poets, Vahshi did not have a strong desire to travel, and thus spent the rest of his life in Yazd and the neighbouring palace-town of Taft. Albeit he occasionally laments his lack of wealth, he appears to have held a distinguished position as the prominent poet at the court of the hereditary rulers of the region, Ghiyat al-Din Mir Miran and his son Khalil-Allah, who were in-laws of the Safavid royal family and traced their descent back to the Sufi shaykh Shah Nimatullah Wali (died 1431).

Vahshi also wrote two brief chronograms on the coronation of Ismail II ((r. 1576 – 1577)) and commendation poems to the governors of Kerman, especially Bekhtash Beg Afshar. Nothing suggests that Vahshi ever got married, and he sems to have been reserved by nature. Awhadi of Balyan, who served as Vahshi's literary executor, reported that Vahshi died at the age of 52 at Yazd in 1583 due to a heavy drinking binge. He was buried in the city, which has frequently been damamed due to political unrest.

Legacy and assessment
Alongside Mohtasham Kashani, Vahshi is considered to be one of the greatest of his generation.